Eddie Guardado Rumors

SI.com’s Jon Heyman checks in with a post on the Rangers; most of the info came up during his recent MLB Network appearance.

Heyman says the Rangers "are considering a pursuit" of Manny Ramirez, noting that Jon Daniels isn’t currently pursuing him but didn’t rule it out. Heyman still considers the Dodgers and Giants the top suitors. El Lefty Malo doesn’t seem him landing with San Francisco.

The Rangers have received inquiries on Vicente Padilla (Braves) and Michael Young. Young has been loosely linked to the Twins, Mets, Angels, Dodgers, and Royals. Sullivan names Hank Blalock and Kevin Millwood as other trade candidates.

MLB.com’s Barry Bloom explains that the arbitration filing period begins Monday. He gives a nice primer on the arbitration system for those that need to brush up. Ryan Howard is due for another big raise.

Buster Olney does not like the Cubs’ recent moves, particularly the Mark DeRosa trade.

11:20pm: Dayton Moore shot down the Bradley rumor this evening. The KC Star’s Bob Dutton says the Royals still like Rafael Furcal and Orlando Hudson, but they’d need to free up money first. They’d be willing to trade Jose Guillen if there was a taker, but don’t want to move Gil Meche.

9:05pm:Ken Rosenthal spoke to a Rangers official who expects Milton Bradley to move on (at least they’ll snag a supplemental pick). This official believes the Rays and, surprisingly, the Royals are the leading suitors for Bradley. The Rays came away impressed after their lunch date with Bradley, who was in town for Eddie Guardado‘s poker tournament.

9:48pm: The Rockies are moving forward on a deal for Rusch, according to Tracy Ringolsby. Ringolsby adds that the Rox may explore a long-term deal with Ubaldo Jimenez after the holidays, but aren’t quite ready to do so with Chris Iannetta. Also, the Rockies like Josh Bard but they don’t have room for him.

As you know, the Nationals are interested in Rockies outfielder Willy Taveras. Taveras might be just a step above a non-tender, so the price shouldn’t be too high. The real question is whether the Nats are planning on starting four players in the outfield.

Joe Beimel is dropping out of the picture, but the Rockies still like Alan Embree, Ron Villone, and Glendon Rusch.

The Mets’ asking price for Aaron Heilman was too high. Jason Marquis could be a trade target, he can at least eat innings at a cost of $6MM to the Rockies. Then again, a lot of guys can do that.

No chance of multiyear contract talks between the Rockies and Brian Fuentes.

12:12pm:Piecoro says talks between the D’Backs and Mark Loretta have advanced in recent days. They’ve made a "significant overture" according to Loretta’s agent.

2:26am: Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic has the latest on the Diamondbacks, in blog posts here and here.

Piecoro dissects the D’Backs’ thought process behind their decision not to offer arbitration to Type A free agent Adam Dunn. He notes that their rumored two-year offer to Dunn was "more of an exploratory offer, nothing formal." They’ll stay in touch with Dunn in case the market is not to his liking.

Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune has a quote from Twins GM Bill Smith on Delmon Young: "He is a 22-year-old outfielder with a bright future, and if we were going to trade him, we would have to get equal value." Young may not be easy to pry loose, but it doesn’t sound like he’s untouchable. There haven’t been many serious trade rumors about Young yet.

In other Twins notes, Hartman says the team doesn’t plan on retaining free agent Eddie Guardado but hopes to re-sign Dennys Reyes.

Sunday afternoon is here again… let’s have a look back at some of the moves and rumors since last time:

The injury-plagued Red Sox acquiredMark Kotsay to help compensate for their injuries. In exchange, the Braves received minor league outfielder Luis Sumoza. Nice acquisition by the Red Sox; Kotsay has been swinging a solid bat this season.

The Twins acquiredEddie Guardado from Texas in exchange for minor league pitcher Mark Hamburger. Guardado has spent the majority of his career with Minnesota and provides a solid arm to the bullpen. To make room for him, they DFA’dMike Lamb. Nice move by the Twins, with the added benefit of being able to see "Rangers trade Guardado for Hamburger" in the news. Now that’s a headline!

The Phillies added a veteran player as well, when they acquired Matt Stairs from Toronto in exchange for minor league lefty Fabio Castro. Stairs should be a decent option off the bench, and he’s still perfectly capable of hitting the ball out of the park.

Scott Boras continues to find ways to create controversy. He’s now claiming that Pittsburgh’s top pick Pedro Alvarez verbally agreed to his $6MM signing bonus after the midnight deadline, and is trying to demand that the contract be renegotiated for a higher number. The Players Association has filed a grievance on his behalf. Alvarez could wind up back in the 2009 draft pool. Here’s a look at some baseball blogs’ opinions on the matter.

Minor moves: The Diamondbacks claimedWil Ledezma off waivers from San Diego, the Braves signedElmer Dessens to a minor-league contract, and the Astros gave one-year extensions to both Brian Moehler and Darin Erstad.

Guardado has been useful for the Rangers, posting a 3.65 ERA in 49.1 innings. The ERA is a bit deceiving, but it’s still a helpful addition for the Twins. Guardado is a familiar face, having spent a decade in the organization. He’s still owed roughly $620K this year.